Elizabeth Banks hosts local Commonwealth Awards

Elizabeth Banks, a Pittsfield native and producer of the upcoming made-in-Boston sci-fi film "The Surrogates," is slotted to be the keynote speaker at the Commonwealth Awards on Tuesday, Jan 13 from 1-4 p.m. at the Massachusetts State House.

The hometown gal, who recently starred in "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" and vamps it up in the "The Uninvited," will give out the awards honoring individuals and organizations that made significant contributions to the Bay State. The ceremony is sponsored by the Mass. Cultural Council.

Banks, who makes her debut as a producer in the upcoming sci-fi flick starring Bruce Willis, spills to Sci Fi Wire that she opted for a behind-the-scenes role in "The Surrogates" because she didn't want to be misconstrued as an actress with vanity projects.

“I really want to be perceived as a legitimate producer, and I think one of the best ways to do that is to not act in the movies you’re producing,” she says.

Banks tells MTV.com that her behind-the-scenes romp with futuristic robots was, well, intellectually stimulating.

"People don't actually live their lives, but they send surrogate robots to go do everything for them — their work, their relationships, everything. They just sit at home and experience it in a chair," she says.

Banks continues, "So, you have all the sensation of a life, but you don't physically live it. It's interesting, because men can be women, women can be men, and ugly people can be beautiful."

Click here for the lowdown on the Commonwealth Awards.